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You’re driving along a remote, dusty road, when suddenly you come upon a border patrol checkpoint. There, agents demand to see your identity papers, and search your car. You are taken by surprise, because you know you haven’t wandered across the Texas-Mexico border. In fact, you’re quite sure of that, because you’re driving through rural Wisconsin countryside west of Green Bay. Even the Canadian border is more than 90 miles away.

This scene is not as far-fetched as you might want to believe. The government is turning vast swaths of our country into a “Constitution-Free Zone” in which U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is allowed to exercise extraordinary authority that would not normally be permitted under the Constitution. The government says that “the border” — where there is a longstanding view that the Constitution does not fully apply — actually stretches 100 miles inland from the nation’s “external boundary.” And increasingly, we are seeing DHS vigorously utilize that authority.

Today we held a press conference at the National Press Club here in D.C. to try to draw attention to this problem — and the fact that, as we showed, nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population live within this "Constitution-Free Zone." That’s 197.4 million people.

We calculated this using the most recent, 2007 numbers from the U.S. Census, and released a map showing the cities and states that are enveloped by this zone. It includes some of the largest metropolitan areas in the country: New York City, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. States that are completely within this Constitution-Free Zone include Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. When you say “border,” they think “all of New England.”

CBP has been setting up checkpoints far inland — on highways in states such as California, Texas and Arizona, and at ferry terminals in Washington State. Typically, the agents ask drivers and passengers about their citizenship. People are also reporting that even after they provide passports or state driver’s licenses, CBP continues to interrogate them and try to pressure them into permitting a search.

At our press conference today in the National Press Club here in DC, two U.S. citizens described their experiences with CBP.

Vince Peppard, a retired social worker, told of being stopped and harassed by the border authorities at least 15 miles from the Mexico border with his wife, Berlant.

Craig Johnson, a music professor at a San Diego college, told how he participated in a peaceful demonstration near the border to protest against the destruction of a state park so that a fence could be constructed along the U.S. border. CBP agents monitored the protest and collected the license plate information of those who participated. Since this protest, Mr. Johnson has twice crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and, each time, he has been pulled aside for additional screening. He was taken to another room, handcuffed and questioned. On his first crossing, he was also partially stripped and subjected to a body cavity search. A CBP agent also told Mr. Johnson that he was on an “armed and dangerous” list. Before the protest, Mr. Johnson crossed the U.S.-Mexico border numerous times without incident. It is difficult to believe that his subsequent harassment at the border is unrelated to his protest activity. If it is related, that would constitute a significant abuse.

Congress needs to hold hearings to investigate these egregious violations of Americans’ civil liberties, and then pass new laws protecting Americans’ rights.

I guarantee you that if these powers are not challenged, if the American people do not push back, sooner or later a factory worker in southern New Hampshire, a farmer in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, or yes, some guy driving across rural Wisconsin, will wake up to find that they have lost their right to go about their business, and travel around inside their own country, without interference from the authorities.

If stopped at such a checkpoint, I will provide my DL, registration and proof of insurance, which I am required to do when asked if operating a motor vehicle on public roads. But I will not answer questions nor submit to a search. Ever.

If stopped at such a checkpoint, I will provide my DL, registration and proof of insurance, which I am required to do when asked if operating a motor vehicle on public roads. But I will not answer questions nor submit to a search. Ever.

What about declaring your CCW??? That's also required. In my case I would have to declare my CCW and my trunk rifle Polish Tantal 74 with 4 extra mags. You see! I'm my own Homeland Security

Checkpoints on open roads can be used on the basis that all drivers are assumed to be guilty of breaking the law and subject to a warrantless search until found innocent.
A factor of where rights are sidelined to ensure a little safety and security (no drunk drivers, no unlicenced drivers, no illegals, no...)
Don't give me that justification of that I agree to the use of checkpoints -CBP or not- when I apply for a driver's licence, which for my state, I don't.

Once it's ok for one reason, then it becomes easy for other reasons. Now we have "Border Controls" deep inside America. What's next?

Now, when I find it desireable to drive into a checkpoint-state, I'll respect the laws of that state, and comply, as a consenquence as part of finding it necessary to be visiting or passing through that state.

Just wondering, was this one method of the old USSR to reign in dissenters, to keep them away from the frontier?

Just wondering, was this one method of the old USSR to reign in dissenters, to keep them away from the frontier?

What I personally remember from back then is that papers were required for most movement, including where you lived. If you didn't have written permission to get a new apartment, you couldn't move anywhere. And they used to drop "dissenters" in a loony bin or prison, and ship them off to Siberian "camps" if they didn't like you. Read Gulag Archepelago.

How can you have a Constitutional Free Zone around a Constitutional Republic? 100 miles inland too!!!!! You have to write your congress person to look into this and at least get this Unconstitutional Constitution Free zone pulled back to a 5 mile limit which is much closer to the borders where they should be.

How can you have a Constitutional Free Zone around a Constitutional Republic? 100 miles inland too!!!!! You have to write your congress person to look into this and at least get this Unconstitutional Constitution Free zone pulled back to a 5 mile limit which is much closer to the borders where they should be.

Did you notice that the whole state of Maine is totally colored in the constitution free zone?

Earth is bootcamp for eternity.
The Social Security number is a bigger threat to Liberty than Communism or Osama bin Laden.

This person is very religious, very pro-Constitution, loves God and Constitution, and this person is scared to death of what they're being told to do out of DC. They can't say anything or be fired, or worse. But they drop hints. BE PREPARED!!!!! And I ain't bullsh**ing either.

Rumor is that this person can't wait to retire to get the hell out from under the tyrants that are taking over our gov't and turning the Constitution everyway possible to fit the commie globalist agenda.

Moral is that not every member of homeland security, or even the ATF, is a jackbooted thug. Most of the ones that are jackbooted thugs are products of the modern, socialist school systems.
The old timers know it's all wrong in everyway possible. Still, they got to eat and put in their time before retirement.

This person is very religious, very pro-Constitution, loves God and Constitution, and this person is scared to death of what they're being told to do out of DC. They can't say anything or be fired, or worse. But they drop hints. BE PREPARED!!!!! And I ain't bullsh**ing either.

Rumor is that this person can't wait to retire to get the hell out from under the tyrants that are taking over our gov't and turning the Constitution everyway possible to fit the commie globalist agenda.

Moral is that not every member of homeland security, or even the ATF, is a jackbooted thug. Most of the ones that are jackbooted thugs are products of the modern, socialist school systems.
The old timers know it's all wrong in everyway possible. Still, they got to eat and put in their time before retirement.

If it's that bad, time is short. They needn't worry about retirement; there won't be any unless this THING is done away with.

Montana Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg lent his support for ceding more power and authority to the federal government's emerging police state by supporting HR 1505, the "National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act." This monstrous bill empowers the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to confiscate to itself tens of thousands of acres of land across the US northern border. This is for "national security" reasons, of course. Gag!

My friend, Dr. Ed Berry, has written a very astute summary and analysis of HR 1505 on his web site, PolyMontana.com. I am going to be borrowing heavily from his research in this column.

Dr. Berry rightly notes that the DHS is the giant head of no less than seven federal agencies: Transportation Security Administration (TSA), US Customs & Border Protection (CBP), US Citizenship & Immigration Services (CIS), US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), US Secret Service (SS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and US Coast Guard (USCG).

Dr. Berry says pointedly, "FEMA is the one with the small cages to put you in if you do not behave. TSA is the one that gives you a useless body scan before you get on an airplane, bus, etc. DHS is the one adding its sensors to streetlights around America and the promoter of E-Verify and Real ID as a cradle-to-grave biometric tracking system for every American." And it is CBP that the DHS is using to seize property along the US northern border.

According to Denny Rehberg, the reasons the DHS needs to seize all this property are: 1) to stop the "turf war" between federal agencies, 2) Drug growers are hiding in our forests, 3) to catch criminals hiding in our forests, 4) to stop illegal aliens from coming in America.

Let's first acknowledge that the federal government has absolutely no natural right or constitutional jurisdiction to claim (much less seize) land and territory outside of the District of Columbia. In many of the western states of the US, for example, the vast majority of land in any given State is now regarded as "federal" land. Ask yourself, where is the constitutional authorization for this federal land grab? When did the various State legislatures vote to give these properties to the federal government? When did the various State governors sign the State laws giving these properties to the federal government? When did the citizens of the various states vote to give these properties to the federal government? The answer is, nowhere, and they didn't!

How is it, then, that we have elected representatives such as Denny Rehberg--people who took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States--who are either so ignorant of the Constitution that they took an oath to uphold, or who are so flippant and careless about that oath, that they so quickly and routinely trample, not only the federal Constitution, but the natural laws and principles of God, and the sovereign rights and authority of the several states?

Now, let's look at Rep. Rehberg's reasons why he supports HR 1505 one at a time:

*To stop the "turf war" between federal agencies

This is a very specious argument, to say the least! No federal agency has any claim to State land! The land doesn't belong to those miscreants inside the Beltway! It belongs to the people of the several states! Therefore, it is the responsibility of the State governor and county sheriff to determine who is and who is not allowed access to these lands. All this talk of a "turf war" between federal agencies is just a bunch of hooey!

On this point, we must note that Rep. Rehberg has introduced a "Sheriffs First" amendment to HR 1505. If approved, this amendment would recognize county sheriffs' law enforcement power over federal agencies and personnel. Of course, this is power sheriffs already have!

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For the record, I don't believe for one second that Denny Rehberg cares one whit whether county sheriffs exercise their authority over these Nazi-like federal agencies. He came up with this amendment as a way to mollify the people of Montana after he discovered that a sizeable number of his constituents are rightfully "mad as hell" about his support for this draconian piece of legislation. After all, he is campaigning for a US Senate seat.

One disagreement I have with Dr. Berry's analysis is his statement, "The exception to a sheriff's ultimate authority should be our Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which may be our only way to remove corruption among local police." The way to deal with corrupt local police officials is for the governor to intervene. Per the Tenth Amendment, law enforcement is the exclusive jurisdiction of State government.

*Drug growers are hiding in our forests

In this regard, Dr. Berry's analysis is absolutely spot-on: "America's War on Drugs is a scam. It keeps the price of drugs high by limiting supply, so drug cartels and our CIA can make money selling drugs. It hires police to catch pot growers and smokers who overflow our prisons. But wealthy drug dealers who pay off the police have a free run. The solution is not to give DHS control over our land. The solution is to stop the War on Drugs."

Dr. Berry is also correct when he states, "Virtually all drugs used in America come across our southern border and DHS has not been able to stop it. So why should we allow DHS to control non-existent drug traffic [over] our northern border when they can't stop the problem where it exists?"

*To catch criminals who are hiding in our forests

Again, law enforcement is the responsibility of State and local government. If there are criminals "hiding in our forests," it is the job of the State law enforcement agencies to find and apprehend them. Moreover, Dr. Berry astutely observes that to use this argument as justification to cede more authority and territory to DHS "shows the real intent of HR 1505 is to control American citizens." Amen!

*To stop illegal aliens from coming into America

I cannot believe Denny Rehberg could say this with a straight face! Yeah, we have a real problem with all those illegal Canucks coming across our northern border, don't we? That's so absurd; I doubt that anyone reading that statement could do so without laughing out loud!

For the record, I live about 75 miles south of the Canadian border, and, ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you unequivocally that there is absolutely no problem with illegal aliens coming across that northern border! In fact, the western states that border Canada enjoy some of the lowest crime rates anywhere in the country.

I'll tell you where we have a problem will illegal aliens (not that I have to): it's along our southern border! So, what are the DHS and the rest of the federal government doing to protect our southern border? Not much! The DHS often imprisons Border Patrol agents who attempt to do their jobs. The federal Justice Department sued the State of Arizona for its attempt to stop illegal immigration and constantly hassles and harangues Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, because of his no-nonsense enforcement of Arizona immigration laws. Furthermore, the Obama administration secretly used federal police agencies to actually supply sophisticated firearms to Mexican drug cartels--firearms that were used to murder a US Border Patrol agent, no less. Does this sound like a federal government that is truly concerned about illegal immigration to you? And now we are supposed to believe that HR 1505 is designed to stop illegal immigration where, for all intents and purposes, it doesn't even exist? Get real!

Dr. Berry inserts one more salient point into his column: "Do you see a pattern here? All the claimed reasons for HR 1505 are the result of federal laws or lack [of] enforcement of our Constitution. Now the feds want another law to supposedly cure the problems they created."

See Dr. Ed Berry's column.

I implore readers to contact their US congressman or congresswoman and find out where he or she stands on HR 1505. This is a monstrous bill that lurches the United States forward into a federal police state in giant strides! The implications and ramifications of this bill, should it become law, are staggering--and scary!

Don't forget the father. We have to start reminding people of the roots and birth of this monstrosety. Remember, it has roots in Russia and Israel.

Remember all the "experts" from those places?

Early life

Chertoff was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey to Rabbi Gershon Baruch Chertoff (1915–1996), the former leader of the Congregation B'nai Israel in Elizabeth and Talmud scholar, and Livia Chertoff (née Eisen), El Al flight attendant. His paternal grandfather, Rabbi Paul Chertoff (emigrated with his parents from czarist Russia, present day Belarus) was a noted Talmud scholar.[5]

Michael Chertoff (born November 28, 1953) was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush and co-author of the USA PATRIOT Act.

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